U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 13,158 filed Feb. 21, 1979 discloses a billfold size data card carrying a microfilm and a lens for reading the microfilm. The card is formed from a laminated paper card having an information portion upon which information appears that can be read in the normal manner with the naked eye. In the embodiment of the card actually produced, the paper card has a microfilm aperture formed at one end and a lens aperture formed at an opposite end. In carrying out the laminating process in this embodiment, the lens and microfilm are loaded into the appropriate apertures of the paper card and a plurality of the paper cards are fed sequentially through a continuous laminating machine. In the machine, continuous strips of the laminating material are preheated and then simultaneously applied to opposite sides of the paper cards as they are fed through the machine at spaced apart position, thus laminating opposite sides of each paper card including its lens and microfilm. A continuous strip of spaced apart laminated paper cards is fed out of the machine with the laminating material extending beyond each side of the paper cards. This strip of laminated paper cards then is fed through a cutter that cuts out each individual card leaving a strip of laminating material of all four sides of the paper card. The laminating material that covers both sides of the viewing areas of the lens of each card is removed with cutting heads, leaving a small portion of the laminating material around the outer edge of the lens on both sides to hold the lens in place.
Although the process produces a suitable card, it has disadvantages in that occasionally one of the preheated laminating strips will sag and catch one of the lenses and twist the card. In addition, during the laminating process, the lenses frequently fall out of their apertures since they are temporarily held in place by friction for lamination.